Binti

 I selected this book by Nnedi Okorafor as a read for an Afrofuturist book.  This book was definitely one that took me outside my normal genre/comfort zone.  I was pleasantly surprised by the book as I am not generally a sci fi/fantasy reader.  This book did a wonderful job of combining Earth and space species in the story.   Binti is a smart, strong willed young women who has grown up in the Namib desert.  I have had the pleasure of visiting this desert so it made it a bit easier to visualize and imagine the setting I think.  

Binti is from a people who are considered outsiders within her own country/region but are accepted as they play a large role in the functioning of the planet and the species.  Her people, the Himba, are the makers of the astrolabes which are a vital part of the society.  She is  even more special as she is further gifted in math and harmonizing.  

The story has a central theme of a war raging between two cultures as well as one of a coming of age element.  Binti wants to pursue her passion, not follow according to her family's plan for her to takeover her father's successful business.  Her boldness drops her into a community of like minded scholars but also places herself in a precarious position of belonging to neither of 2 races who are at war with each other.  

The story was an adventure and shows the compassion of living beings and how friendships can overcome differences when people give each other a chance.   There is a series of books in this tale and I may pursue reading more of them in the future since I did enjoy this one and it was a nice quick read.  

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is not my normal genre but I really enjoyed this sci fi/ fantasy novel. The description is wonderful and brings out the ability to visualize the scenes. The characters are a mix of both human and extra terrestrial. This is the first in a series and it sets up an interesting premise and characters with an intriguing relationship that will be interesting to see if it develops as the series progresses. Binti is a strong willed and determined young woman who is very intelligent and a role model in her bravery.

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #103
2. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  Namibia
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book #111
4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #125
5. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #2 An Afrofuturist book  
6. Around the Year in 52 Books #41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author  
7. The Unofficial Magnus Archives Challenge  #TMARC21  #3 The Dark: about/set in space
8. Nerd Daily  #NERDREADING2021 #38. SET IN THE FUTURE
9. Bookworm  #43.) Read a Science Fiction
10. Spells and Spaceships #3 Space Opera Badge: Book set in space or on other planets; #2 First Contact Badge: Humanity meets extraterrestrial life for the first time
11. Monthly Motif #MonthlyMotifGXO  Back to School
12. Monthly Book Awards #AwardReadingChallenge  Hugo 2016
13. 52 books in 52 weeks  #4-6 out of this world